Love your neighbor

I was inspired today by a friend's blog to write down some of the things my kids pray about.  I encourage them to say thank-yous, and it is cute seeing what the relevant thank-yous are for 5- and 3-yr olds:  Otter pops, water parks, swimming pools, Breakaway, etc.
The other night Oliver just said, "Dear God, thank you for Jesus.  Amen".  Perfect.  :)

It is wonderful seeing them learn and start to understand what they are hearing from church, home, school etc.  It would be nice if they applied the "do unto others as you would have done unto you" more often instead of fighting and yelling at each other.  (But then it would be nice if I remembered that more often too.) 

One of my favorite interpretations of the bible from Oliver has been, "... and love your neighbor as yourself."  (Matt 19:19)  As luck would have it, we have neighbors that are friends.  Their son and Hannah were at school together, and there is an older brother and an older sister.  So their kids hang over our wall yelling for us, and Hannah and Oliver do the same.  Many games and conversations have taken place over the fence (and in each others yards, too).  And of course neighbors wouldn't be neighbors without super-soaker fights!  One day we talked about loving your neighbor and we were explaining that neighbor referred to all other people on earth no matter where or what they come from or look like or act like.  But he has decided that it specifically refers to OUR neighbor.  Our literal neighbor.  And so the family next door always get extra prayers from Oliver.  It's as good a place to start as any, I suppose!!

Not a cheery day

I'm having one of these kind of moments:

But I'm trying not to.  My future IS bright.  God IS on my side.  He WILL provide.  I CAN trust.  In my heart I get that, but sometimes my head spins with troubled thoughts.

I'll be more cheerful in my next post.  Promise.

Little fish

Both kids LOVE water.  And LOVE swimming.  And on July 4 Hannah finally took the big step to swimming without help.  I wonder if I've been holding her back a bit, because we went to the pool and I realized I'd left her lifejacket (that she usually swims with) at the condo.  I told her I'd come into the pool and hold her, but she said, "That's OK, I can swim by myself".  Not sure about that, I went in with her, but she shrugged my hands off her and took off across the pool.  She was so proud of herself!  But also exhausted... doggy paddle is so energy inefficient!!  She soon got the hang of it, found a better style, and is now a little fish, confident and happy.  And if given a chance would spend ALL DAY in the water.  I think that by the end of the summer Oliver might be doing the same.  Yay for our special friend with a pool!!  Yay for lakes and rivers close by!!  Big milestone, Hannah - GREAT JOB!

Land that I love

Being a non-American mother of two Americans I feel like I want to immerse myself in American culture to create proud and patriotic citizens.  I come from a family of patriotic loyal people, and it is important, I think.  I fell in love with the USA before we even came to live here.  Leaving South Africa was gut-wrenching.  After months of tears and emotions I remember Glen and I getting on the plane, and as the wheels lifted off African soil we both burst into tears.  A very strange feeling to leave your homeland on an adventure to create a home in another country.  Nerves, uncertainty, minutes of "movers remorse".  But also GREAT excitement after a thoughtful, careful decision on what we felt was best for us and our future family.

Despite moments of homesickness caused by missing weddings, childbirths, illnesses, and of course most recently World Cup Fever, we are so happy about our decision and believe it was the right decision for our family.  We LOVE our new home.  We've made wonderful friendships, and started wonderful traditions, and I feel like I am enjoying this new culture more and more.  A lot of that comes from the joy of seeing my children and the life they are given here.  What a blessing.  What a luxury that I am so proud to be providing for them.  As we instill in them curiosity and connection to our African roots, we also are filling them (and ourselves) with a new patriotism to our new homeland.

On 4th of July weekend we went away with friends to Angels Camp.  SO beautiful.  Sun, lake, pool, relaxation, laughter, late nights... just exactly the break we needed after a busy crazy first half of the year.  I LOVE the 4th of July festivities.  It definitely brings out the patriotism in everyone and makes me think a thousand times that day how happy and how thankful I am for this country and the little American kiddos I have.  We made a beautiful discovery when we decided to go to a fireworks display at Ironstone Vineyards.  Wow!!  Amazing grounds.  Such a pretty setting.  (Good wine, too!).  And it was one of the best fireworks displays I have ever seen.  Hannah LOVED it.  Oliver fell asleep during it!!!  I suppose when you have kids used to going to bed at 7:30pm that have to wait til 9:30pm for the start of a show, getting through to the end of the show can be more than they can manage!!  Especially after a day of swimming and sun!!  It was a perfect American day.
Waiting for fireworks: